The Author Of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy' Perfectly Captured The 'Rules' About How We React To Technologyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/douglas-adams-on-technology-2014-5/comments
en-usWed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 -0500Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:28:05 -0500Jillian D'Onfrohttp://www.businessinsider.com/c/53849b186bb3f79c0fdfdb96robertholtzTue, 27 May 2014 10:03:04 -0400http://www.businessinsider.com/c/53849b186bb3f79c0fdfdb96
You are right and wrong at the same time.
It is true that Marvin never really exhibited paranoid behavior and that he was definitely depressed... even morose... and terminally bored (what with the terrible pain in all the diodes down his left side). Ford Prefect referred to Marvin as a "maniacally depressed robot."
That said, Zaphod Beeblebrox dubbed him "Marvin, The Paranoid Android." That moniker stayed with Marvin and was repeated over and over in the all of the radio productions, books, the TV series, the movie and even a Radiohead song called "Paranoid Android." It is how his name appears in the on-air script and even how Marvin is listed on Wikipedia: ( <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_the_Paranoid_Android" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_the_Paranoid_Android</a> ).
Ultimately, for those who know the character, "paranoid" is clearly a misnomer. Nevertheless, it's Marvin's misnomer and an inescapable part of his identity.
Stephen Moore, who gave Marvin his most famous (and my favorite) voicing on the BBC Radio series and the original TV series, called him "miserable" and that is definitely apt. But even he referred to him as "Marvin The Paranoid Android" when it came to the cover of the joke album he released in 1981 called "The Double B-Side" under the joke name of "Depressive Discs" (actually Polydor). It featured two songs: "Reasons to be Miserable" and "Marvin I Love You" with soundbites of a bunch of Marvin's best moments.
Marvin is bar none my favorite character in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. To me, he is one of Douglas Adams' most crowning achievements. Just a brilliant character on so many levels. And as we start to talk to our phones and computers, his GPP (Genuine People Personality) is funnier and more relevant than ever.http://www.businessinsider.com/c/53832b51ecad04d35947e839SRMon, 26 May 2014 07:53:53 -0400http://www.businessinsider.com/c/53832b51ecad04d35947e839
Marvin was depressed not paranoid.